The former England captain will join the American side on a five-year contract starting in July, with endorsement deals a major factor.

Not since Pele stepped onto the field for the New York Cosmos in 1975 has American soccer seen anything approaching the scope of what a Beckham signing would mean.

In a statement the 31-year-old midfielder confirmed on Thursday: "Real Madrid asked me to make a decision regarding my future and the offer to extend my contract by a further two seasons.

"After discussing several options with my family and advisers to either stay here at Madrid or join other major British and European clubs, I have decided to join the Los Angeles Galaxy and play in the MLS from August this year.

"I am proud to have played for two of the biggest clubs in football and I look forward to the new challenge of growing the world's most popular game in a country that is as passionate about its sport as my own."

He added: "For the rest of this season I will continue to give 100 percent to my coach, team mates and fans as I believe (Real coach) Fabio Capello will bring this club and its supporters the success they truly deserve."

Real Madrid confirmed their high profile star was leaving.

"After a meeting between both parties it was agreed David will not extend his current contract" which runs to June 30, the club said in a statement on its website.

The king's ransom for Beckham will rely upon money from endorsement deals as well as salary. Not bad for a man whose name was once considered so unknown among Americans that "Bend it like Beckham" nearly had another US title.

"A lot of that is going to be on the commercial side. That's not going to be because the Galaxy is paying him that much money," said Timothy Leiweke, president of the ownership group that operates the Galaxy.

"He has many endorsement opportunities here."

The move to LA Galaxy, which is based near Beckham's Southern California sports academy, comes at the end of a week when the player had been negotiating a new deal that would have kept him at the Bernabeu until 2009.

Speculation that his tenure in Madrid had come to an end was heightened Wednesday when Real sporting director Predrag Mijatovic was quoted as telling Sky Italia that his contract with the Spanish giants had not been renewed.

But the club later denied that the star midfielder was on his way out, stressing that negotiations over a new deal were still ongoing.

Under FIFA guidelines, Beckham has been able to openly negotiate with other clubs since January 1 because he is in the final six months of his contract.

Beckham, who had previously spent the whole of his professional career with Manchester United, moved to Spain in 2003 after falling out with Old Trafford mentor Sir Alex Ferguson.

He was one of several high-profile signings, along with Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo, who collectively became known as the "galaticos".

But Real have failed to win a major trophy during Beckham's time in Spain and he himself has drifted out of the first team.

While Beckham has fallen from the starting lineup, he will be a superstar with the glamour and appeal to make American audiences take notice of a sport largely ignored in favor of baseball, basketball and American football.

His off-field activities and high-profile will be a perfect fit for the Hollywood scene and provide opportunities for his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham.

It will also be a boon for his corporate sponsors, who reportedly pay Beckham 20 million dollars a year for his golden endorsement.

When Pele joined the Cosmos the Brazilian legend became the main man of a global all-star team that included Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia.

But once Pele retired, the star faded and the Cosmos and the entire North American Soccer League folded soon after, a victim of over expansion and little interest in the game beyond the superstar squad.

That lesson has helped keep Major League Soccer grounded in salary caps and lower-priced talent since its 1996 debut, allowing the league to grow and build solid support but with fan interest levels far below that of other US sports.

But MLS officials made a rule change after last season allowing clubs to bypass the salary cap for one player, opening the door to a big-money Beckham signing and possibly the floodgates for other global talent, especially big names in their waning years.